STRAHLENBERG, Philipp Johann von. An Historico-Geographical Description of the North and Eastern Part of Europe and Asia; But more particularly of Russia, Siberia, and Great Tartary; Both in their ancient and modern State: Together with an entire New Polyglot-Table of the Dialects of 32 Tartarian Nations: And a Vocabulary of the Kalmuck-Mungalian Tongue. As also, a large and accurate Map of those Countries. Written originally in High German. Now faithfully translated into English. London, W. Innys and R. Manby, 1738.
4to. Contemporary full sprinkled calf, spine with raised bands and red morocco lettering-piece; pp. [4], ix, [3], 463, large (640 x 960 mm) engraved folding map, hand-coloured in outline and paper-backed at the time, fold-out map, 9 engraved plates (2 folding), large folding woodcut map, very large folding comparative linguistic table, head and tail of spine a little worn, as well as rubbing to extremities, small marginal trace of worming to inside of lower cover, rear fly-leaf and the final three printed leaves, title with very faint spotting, otherwise a remarkable, clean, and fresh copy; name of George Bouwman (18th-century) on verso of the large map, contemporary name in ink of James S. George at head of the first page of the main text.
First English edition, reissue of the 1736 issue with new title-page. The Swedish officer Strahlenberg had been taken captive during Charles XII's Russian campaign and was detained for 13 years in Siberia. Situated from 1711 to 1721 in Tobolsk he was able to explore vast stretches of land eastward. The map, which had been published separately in 1730 in Stockholm, as well as the text remained one of the most accurate and best for decades to come. This book is one of the most important sources of historical-geographical and ethnographic information about Siberia and beyond. - The map is rarely found coloured.
Cordier 2713; Cox I, 194; ESTC T100339.
#2110746